自娛自樂
譯寫春秋，譯路同行。
蟬賦 – 曹植 （節譯二）
Ode to Cicada by Cao Zhi
有翩翩之狡童兮，步容與於園圃。
體離朱之聰視兮，姿才捷於獮猿。
Here appears a comely but impish lad,
Rambling into the sacred garden.
His discerning eyes, as the storied Li Zhu had,
It seems his climbs so agile as apes from Arden.
條罔葉而不挽兮，樹無幹而不緣。
翳輕軀而奮進兮，跪側足以自閑。
He left no twigs or branches unshaken,
No tree left unclimbed - not a single one.
As light as a feather, no step was mistaken,
Now hiding, now kneeling, all perfectly done.
恐餘身之驚駭兮，精曾睨而目連。
持柔竿之冉冉兮，運微粘而我纏。
He fears any rustle may startle his prey,
He crouches there, yet his eye hath never lost it,
A slender pole rises carefully on its way,
Its glutenous tip grabs the game - O, that’s kismet!
欲翻飛而逾滯兮，知性命之長捐。
委厥體於膳夫。歸炎炭而就燔。
It tries to fly away, yet no way can it do so,
It hath realised its life hath come to its descent.
Hence, it succumbs its body to the fire aglow,
Roasted alive, a petty life – just like that, spent.
秋霜紛以宵下，晨風烈其過庭。
氣憯怛而薄軀，足攀木而失莖。
吟嘶啞以沮敗，狀枯槁以喪形。
At night, autumn sheds its frost cold,
At dawn, across the garden winds whip chill,
The withered body lies in its sorry plight.
It once grabbed the twig, but at last lost its hold,
Its calls turned raspy as death arrived to kill,
The foray wasted it, what a wretched sight.
亂曰：
詩歎鳴蜩，聲嘒嘒兮，
盛陽則來，太陰逝兮。
皎皎貞素，侔夷節兮。
帝臣是戴，尚其潔兮。
This verse laments:
The cicada sings with a voice vibrant and clear,
When the scorching sun rises, it ventures out here,
When cruel chill arrives, it’s doomed to disappear,
Like Bo Yi in parables, its virtue in purity sincere,
Which should be awed by many a prince and courtier.
Tr. Ziyuzile
(To be revised)
22/07/2024
